The Silver Box
by LemonYellow
Summary: What happens when Obi-Wan finds something unusual in the Jedi archives. Please read and review so I know to continue
1. A Strange Request

Chapter 1

An unusual request

Obi-Wan Kenobi was lying on his bed one morning staring at the ceiling and counting the tiny little dots for what seemed to be the thousandth time.

"One-thousand-three-hundred-ninety-five, one-thousand-three-hundred-ninety-six, one-thousand-three-hundred-ninety-seven, one-thousand-three-hundred-ninety-eight, one-thousand-three-hundred-ninety-nine… "

Suddenly Qui-Gon burst into the room carrying a rather large pile of paperwork. Obi-Wan jumped and immediately lost count.

"Obi-Wan, I have very important business to attend to concerning our upcoming mission and I need you to do something for me while I'm gone," Qui-Gon said.

"Like what master?" Obi-Wan replied.

"I need you to pick something up for me in the archives," Qui-Gon answered.

_Oh that's easy,_ Obi-Wan thought with a sigh of relief.

"I'm afraid not, my padawan. What I need you to get is in the Masters Only section," Qui-Gon said sensing what Obi-Wan had thought.

"But how can I get it if it's in the restricted section?" Obi-Wan questioned.

"I have written a note to allow you access, and this is a temporary access code for the door and the title of the file I need," Qui-Gon said, handing Obi-Wan two pieces of paper while trying to balance everything else in his other hand. "I must leave now. Good luck with your search," he said with a wink as he rushed out of the room.

Obi-Wan sat and stared at the paper thinking about what Qui-Gon had just asked him to do. He felt excitement rush through him. He was about to go to a place where no other padawan had gone before.

With that thought also came a burst of nervousness.

He pushed those feelings away, pulled on his boots, and headed for the archive room.


	2. In the Archives

Chapter 2  
In the Archives

Obi-Wan hurried down the halls of the temple toward the archive room.

Once inside he quickly began searching for the archives director. He found her assisting a younger padawan in his studies.

Obi-Wan stood and waited until she was finished. He stared in amazement at the thousands of holobooks lining the shelves. He imagined how much knowledge and secrets the ancient books held.  
While he was staring he hadn't noticed that the director had finished and was now staring at him.

Obi-Wan snapped back into reality and quickly bowed to the woman.

"Good morning, Padawan Kenobi. Can I help you with something?" she asked.

"Good morning, Madame Nu," he replied. "Master Qui-Gon has asked that I pick something up for him in the restricted section."

"Has he written a permission form? I'm afraid I can't let you in without one," she said.

Obi-Wan nodded and handed Qui-Gon's note to her.

"Very good," she said looking over the note.

She then motioned for Obi-Wan to follow her. She led him to the far corner of the room and stopped in front of a large door.

"I would love to help you find what Qui-Gon needs, but I have other business to attend to. If you need anything, come and find me. Oh, and there are a few rules. First, you may only remove from the room what your master has requested. Second, you may not access anything in that room, including your master's file. Your master will be the one to decide to share the information with you."

With that she turned on her heel and walked away.

Obi-Wan stared up at the huge door. There was something carved into the surface that Obi-Wan couldn't read. It seemed to be a very old style of writing.

He quickly typed in the pass code Qui-Gon had given him. He heard the ancient lock hiss and creak. He pushed open the door and froze. The room was enormous. There were rows and rows of shelves full of holofiles. And they were in no particular order.

_I didn't know the Jedi had so many secrets!_ Obi-Wan thought.

He looked at the file number Qui-Gon had written down.  


_911750_ Obi-Wan said to himself. He repeated it a few times to remember it_. That's strange_ he thought. _That's the exact number of dots that are on the ceiling in my room!_

Obi-Wan smiled and set to work.

Two hours and six rows later, Obi-Wan wasn't smiling anymore. He hadn't found anything remotely close to Qui-Gon's file.

"Stupid file," Obi-Wan grumbled as he started on the next row.

Near about the end of the tenth row, Obi-Wan finally spotted it. He grabbed the file and pulled it off the shelf.

Just then he noticed something else in the space where the file had been. He reached in and pulled it out.

The object was small, about the same size as a commlink, and completely covered with dust. It also had two small buttons along the side. Obi-Wan guessed from the large amount of dust that it hadn't been touched for many years. He also wondered what the little gizmo was for.

He was about to put it in his pocket when he remembered what Madame Nu had said. He wasn't allowed to take anything else.

_They probably won't mind,_ he thought. _I doubt anyone even knows this thing is here_. So he threw it in his pocket and exited the room.


	3. The Silver Box

Chapter 3

The Silver Box

Obi-Wan made his way back to his and Qui-Gon's quarters.

He palmed open the door and stepped inside. He noticed Qui-Gon sitting at the table bent over his work.

Obi-Wan walked over to where he was sitting.

"Back so soon?" Qui-Gon asked with a chuckle as he turned to face his apprentice. "You are radiating with excitement, Padawan. What happened?"

"Oh, you know, first time in the Masters Only section," Obi-Wan lied as he handed Qui-Gon the file.

"Thank you very much, my apprentice. It would have taken me three days to find it," Qui-Gon said as he took the file and turned back to his work.

Obi-Wan, glad to get away, scurried away to his room. He closed the door and immediately took the strange item out of his robe pocket.

He looked around for something to wipe it off with, but eventually had to use his sleeve.

He carefully wiped the little box off revealing dazzling silver under all the dust. Obi-Wan was amazed at how shiny it was after being covered in dust for so long.

After staring at it for a while, he decided to find Bant, his Mon Calimarian friend, and show her his discovery. He knew that she would help him discover what the little box was for.

As he headed for the door, he sent a message to Qui-Gon from their training bond.

/Master, I'm going to find Bant and grab a bite to eat./

Qui-Gon didn't respond, so Obi-Wan decided it meant that he was free to go.

Obi-Wan found Bant in her favorite spot down by the lake. When she saw Obi-Wan, she hurried out of the water to meet her friend.

"Look at what I found!" Obi-Wan said pulling out the shimmering object once she met up with him.  


"Wow! What is that? Where did you get it?" questioned Bant.

"Well, it's kinda a long story, but..." Obi-Wan started but Bant cut him off.

"You have to tell me everything! We have time. Nobody had class today so talk."

So Obi-Wan proceeded to tell Bant about how he came across the mysterious item. She was silent for a while after he finished.

"Obi-Wan, I know it's cool and everything, but I don't think you should have just taken it," she said. "You should return it or at least ask permission to look at it."

"But do you seriously think they would let me have it?"Obi-Wan said.

"Well, no, but that's precisely why you shouldn't have stolen it. And if you want me to help you, I want permission to do so," Bant concluded.

Obi-Wan was beginning to feel irritated. It was not like Bant to resist the possibility of an adventure.

"Fine," he said, "If you don't want to help me, then I'll figure it out myself." With that he walked away.

"At least tell Qui-Gon!" she called after him. But he ignored her and continued walking.

. . .

Obi-Wan stomped through the halls of the temple on his way back to his quarters. He was angry with Bant for not wanting to help him.

He paused outside the door trying to release his anger so that Qui-Gon wouldn't notice and question him to death.

He opened the door and tiptoed to his room. He saw that Qui-Gon was still very busy.

He sat down on his bed and took out the box. He turned it around in his hands a few times and fingered the buttons. He wondered again what it was for.

After a long time of staring at it, he decided he would press the buttons. He wanted to know once and for all what it did.

He pressed the top button first. After a slight pause, the box began to vibrate slightly 

and hum quietly.

A wave of excitement washed over him. Not caring anymore if the box would make noise and alert Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan pressed the second button.

Suddenly the world went black.


	4. Missing

Chapter 4

Missing

Qui-Gon finished his work and stacked the paperwork covering the table and surrounding floor into a neat pile.

He got up and stretched his arms. He picked up the pile and headed for his room.

On his way he passed Obi-Wan's closed door. He wondered if Obi-Wan had returned.

He knocked once. When he heard no response, he opened the door and stepped inside.

Obi-Wan wasn't back yet apparently. Qui-Gon assumed he was still with Bant, so he turned to leave.

Just then, he noticed something small sitting on the floor. He bent over and picked it up. It was shiny and had two buttons on the side. He dropped it into his pocket. He would ask Obi-Wan about it later.

He decided he would go meet up with Bant and Obi-Wan and maybe grab something to eat.

He put the paperwork in his room and headed for the door.

Just as he was about to leave, the door flew open revealing Bant.

"Qui-Gon, have you seen Obi-Wan? I can't find him anywhere!" she shouted.

"Wha- I was just about to ask you the same question. He said he was with you," Qui-Gon replied.

"Well, he was, but then we got into a bit of an argument and he left and I thought maybe he came back here."

"Hmm... May I ask why you two were arguing?" Qui-Gon said.

"Obi-Wan had...uh...found something unusual and he wanted me to help him figure out what it was. But I said no and...," Bant trailed off when she noticed that Qui-Gon didn't seem to be listening. "Qui-Gon?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes, sorry. You just reminded me of something I found in Obi-Wan's room," he said, pulling the thing out of his pocket.

Bant's eyes grew wide. "That's it!"

"It certainly is unusual," Qui-Gon said turning it over in his hand. "Let's go look for Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said as he motioned for Bant to follow him out the door.

"Have you looked anywhere else?" Qui-Gon asked as they were walking down the hall.

"Yes, I checked the room of a thousand fountains and the dining area. We were by the lake, so he wouldn't be there," Bant replied.

"Hmm...Well, then I guess we'll just have to look harder."

After about two hours, Qui-Gon and Bant still hadn't found Obi-Wan. They had searched nearly the whole temple.

"Where in the world could he be?" Bant said with a sigh.

"I have no idea. I don't know where else to look," Qui-Gon said.

"Maybe we can ask if anyone has seen him. I just hope we find him soon because I'm starving!"

"We can grab a bite to eat before we continue if you'd like," Qui-Gon proposed.

"Works for me!" cried Bant as her stomach gave a hungry growl.

They both hurried off.


End file.
